Uneasy daily life

Mai Sakurajima: "?"

Toyohama Kazuka: "?"

This imaginative expression is enough to make an architect commit suicide on the spot after hearing it, or pick up a utility knife and try to kill the client.

Xi wouldn't, because she was an artist and had no shortage of imagination. After briefly listening to Bai Ying's suggestion, she thought for a moment and then picked up her brush to sketch on the paper.

With a single stroke, the sky on the paper is revealed, half of the mountains and bamboo forests hang under the sun, and the other half of the cliffs and the sea hang under the moon. Between the strokes of the ink, the sun and moon move and cycle on the paper.

In a painting where physics has vanished, four distinct architectural styles are miraculously piled atop a hill to form a unified whole. A white leaning tower juts out from the cliff, and in the undulating sea below, faintly visible are fish-like figures and a gigantic shadow resembling Godzilla, creating a contrast of light and shadow with the white leaning tower that has a balcony protruding from it.

The pen tip splits open bamboo stalks, outlining leaf veins; beneath the bamboo, black and white colors naturally converge to form a group of adorable animals.

Sun and moon, light and darkness, white and shadow, cute and strange, seemingly ordinary buildings are pieced together to form something extraordinary...

Xi put away the brush, took the scroll, and rolled up the paper: "Here, that's all."

"Damn it, there's nowhere to point out anything?" Bai Ying examined the painting closely and said resentfully, "Imagination might blow the blood pressure of a science-oriented designer, but can't it effectively harm a creative person?!"

"Hmph, there is no painting in the world that can stump me."

Xi's tone carried a hint of arrogance, and the gloom of defeat in her heart was swept away.

Can you draw a big monster?

"You give me the counter!"

After kicking the group out all at once, Xi pouted unhappily.

He's really good at finding fault with people. Hopefully, he won't get himself killed; that would be too boring.

Phew... I had a sudden burst of inspiration and managed to get that painting done. Whether it's useful or not depends on your luck.

Stillness breeds movement. I really need to go out and see what the world has become. If I don't find some inspiration, I won't even be able to create a painting.

Xi pondered temporarily changing her stay-at-home lifestyle.

Bai Ying walked along the road with the painting scroll in her hand, and invited enthusiastically, "Why don't we find a place to go inside the painting and take a look? Although she painted fakes, it's the fakes that make it interesting."

"Whether I can go inside or not, I don't want to go inside!"

Feng Bin and Hua's faces were full of resistance: "What do you mean by a mermaid who looks just like me? I don't want to see that kind of weird stuff!"

"This isn't my fault," Bai Ying immediately shifted the blame. "It was 9528's request!"

Mai Sakurajima twitched her eyelids: "There must be a reason why you deliberately didn't make it clear, right? It's clearly a good thing, but the haters have embellished it all, making it sound weird..."

"Brave Plus, this is truly a good thing—if you were to have a master artist create a painting based on your own ideas, it would be very easy for someone to become completely engrossed and unable to tear themselves away."

Bai Ying tossed the scroll in her hand aside and said casually, "That's more interesting."

“That’s true. Miss Yu’s description of the phenomenon is too perfect. If it were to come true, I’m not sure if I would become obsessed with it…” Mai Sakurajima pondered for a moment, then turned to the side and asked with a smile, “So, what kind of home does Black Fan-kun imagine?”

"Hmm... If we were to express it through painting, it would be from the very beginning until now."

From the very beginning of the drawing until now, that's probably a home that even Miss Yu couldn't depict, no, maybe? With her extraordinary drawing skills, she's depicting a story... it certainly has an addictive allure.

"I've planned it all out. I'll stay at your house on Monday, at Matchstick Man's house on Tuesday, at Hero's house on Wednesday, at 9528's house on Thursday, and then reward myself with three days of traveling the world for the rest of the time..."

The white figure meticulously sketched out the future.

What kind of survival rules are these for scumbags?!

Naturally, they were then kicked and stomped on.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Scarlet Theater-Style Special Training

Among all the film crews and sets, the film crew of that year was the most special one. All sorts of messy things often happened, including but not limited to last-minute script changes, last-minute role changes, last-minute addition of roles, and even some scenes that had already been filmed might have their footage deleted and have to be reshot. The director's reason was, "I wasn't satisfied when I reviewed it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what I was dissatisfied with, so I deleted the scene and asked you to reshoot it to get a feel for it."

It's hard to find a film crew this rudimentary.

However, for those who joined the crew, there was almost no negative emotion—the food was fantastic, with meat at every meal, even the extras got stir-fries, and aside from the occasional invitation from the director to eat mildly spicy hot pot, the food was perfect. There were even holidays; the director basically followed his own shooting schedule, and those not on the schedule were given time off. The director was particularly good at giving extra pay.

"Crack!"

Nian, dissatisfied, called for a halt: "No! Absolutely not! Come on, sis! You have to get that feeling of dying in an instant!"

I was told I'd just play a minor supporting role! Why is it that this character is getting more and more screen time and more and more difficult to film?

What does it mean to ignite fighting spirit from negativity, only to be overwhelmed by fear the moment that spirit rises, and then the show ends—ugh! Just kill me! Give me the same brief appearance as everyone else in the team, just to highlight the other main characters!

Director, how about you replace him?

Feng Binhua took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind. She bowed slightly in apology, trying to remain calm: "I'm sorry, Director, I'll try again!"

"Sigh, this seems quite difficult for you." Nian scratched his head in distress, holding a fan.

“For bad movie directors, you need to pay more.” Screenwriter Bai rubbed his fingers together. “There’s no difficulty in the world that money can’t overcome, as long as you throw the money at the right amount.”

"what?"

One year, he complained, "Is this some kind of pay-to-win hack-and-slash game? If I could pay to upgrade my character's skills, I'd be the first to raise all the actors' acting to 90+!"

Bai Ying shook her head and said, "What I mean is that the more money you throw at it, the greater the pressure on Miss Feng Bin will be, and she will be unable to complete this key plot. Then she will feel ashamed and step down, so you can find the next actor with 90+ acting skills."

It’s hard, the fist is hard!

Feng Bin and Hua's eyebrows twitched slightly, and their professional smiles took on a more menacing air.

“Let’s forget about changing the actress. We’re all about chemistry when it comes to filming. The actress playing ‘Jin Xi’ has to be a young and fresh-faced girl…” Folding Fan clapped his hands, and Nian also became troubled. “To portray a sentimental and melancholic old age while also showing the transformation, it’s really a bit difficult… Hmm, let’s just add special effects!”

Nian's eyes lit up: "Just like in cartoons, a dark cloud over a character's head and a light drizzle indicate that they're in a bad mood, but when their mood changes, the dark cloud and drizzle turn into a rainbow!"

"Wow! So that's how you got those special effects in your movies?" Bai Ying gasped. "Amazing! If your acting isn't good enough, you make up for it with special effects!"

"Hahaha! I'm a master of ideas, I have plenty of ways to come up with solutions. To cater to the local Japanese tastes, let's use a cute anime style for the special effects..."

Nian Yangyang began to conceive the idea with great pride.

A character, a cold and aloof character, always with a cute, cartoonish rain cloud above his head in the movie... That's right, it doesn't matter what kind of acting skills that character has, or who he's acting opposite. Just as no one can defeat a comedic character in terms of fighting ability, no one can defeat a comedic character with acting skills!

The crew couldn't help but feel sorry for the young girl—her acting career was truly full of twists and turns and challenges.

"Director! I can still try a little harder! You can shoot the other scenes first, I'll try to get into character!"

Feng Bin and Hua struggled loudly.

“Rainbows can also explode into fireworks to express the characters’ shock and fear… Ah? Okay, okay, I like actors with drive!” Nian paused for a moment, then nodded and said, “I’ll give you half a day to adjust and practice! Next scene: ‘The sandstorm intensifies, Huang Quan raises his flag and marches forward again; poetry and wine cleanse the sword, the great dream of a thousand autumns awakens today’! Actors, take your positions…”

After leaving the camera's view, Feng Bin and Hua hurriedly ran towards Bai Ying. On the way, they paused and grabbed Angelina, who was eating snacks and watching the filming.

"Huh? Ouch!" Angelina froze, her face contorting in pain—it hurts!

Ouch! Don't pull me away! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

"Quickly help me think of how to act!"

Feng Bin and Hua led Angelina directly to Bai Ying.

Angelina instinctively thrashed and struggled—Huh? Why are you dragging me down this path to my death?! Ouch, ouch, ouch!

"Hmm?" Bai Ying leaned back in her chair, raising an eyebrow. "You should have said, 'Please teach me how to act!'"

Feng Bin and Hua said irritably, "Please climb over here!"

"okay!"

Bai Ying sprang to her feet: "From a special effects perspective, I suddenly have a brilliant idea. Why not have the character wear a sunflower on their head? When they're sad and melancholy, it will wilt; when they're happy, it will be wide open. And when filming wraps up, the petals will fall and scatter in all directions..."

"Please teach me how to act!"

Feng Bin and Hua gritted their teeth and kicked Bai Ying in the shin. "What kind of time is this to take advantage of someone's misfortune!"

The drizzle was nothing compared to her joy. Bai Ying beamed and said, "Good, good! I've been looking forward to seeing that expression on your face..."

"Oh—please teach me how to act!"

Feng Bin and Hua's expressions instantly turned blank, then they let out a cold laugh and kicked him again.

Bai Ying: "Your attitude isn't very sincere."

"Please teach me how to act."

"Hey, I'm talking to you..."

"Please teach me how to act."

Feng Binhe muttered something under his breath and kicked Bai Ying's foot, acting as if he was obliterating emotions and repeating himself like a broken record. Bai Ying turned around and ran straight out of the film set. Feng Binhe tried to chase after her, but after only a few steps, he quickly turned back and pulled Angelina along with him.

"Hey, don't run away!"

"Ouch! Don't pull me! Don't run away!" Angelina's eyes widened, every muscle fiber in her body screaming for a strike. "Why did you bring me along?!"

Feng Binhua mumbled, "Um—aren't you an actor in the crew too? You should work on your acting skills, right?"

Are you guys really training your acting skills, or training your flirting skills?

As Angelina mentally complained, she was swept up in a frenzy by the accelerating Toyohama and Hana. Her entire body went from being on strike to rebelling, every cell screaming, "To die in pain is death, to die without pain is death, but can I die in pain?"

"Ouch, ouch ...

Mai Sakurajima, who was adjusting her emotions and preparing to get into character, glanced at the three people who had run away from the set. Trying to teach Kazuha acting in the usual way wouldn't work, but while the hater's method was effective, it probably wouldn't be very ordinary...

"The actors are in place!"

The director's excited voice came through the loudspeaker.

And then there's the director—will she really give up on her brilliant idea?

Mai Sakurajima sighed, while Kazuha probably still didn't understand.

Give up the idea that you can make a good movie just by acting well. Instead, try to understand the character during filming and improve your acting skills.

……

……

A park.

Bai Ying paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, looking at the two people sitting in the chairs.

"Acting skills—as the name suggests, are the techniques of performance and the ability to act. This is the most basic content. Although everyone knows that acting well is good, there are various disagreements and schools of thought on how to act well. I simply summarize it as 'brain flow,' 'body flow,' and 'heart flow.' The 'Brave Plus' is brain flow, which focuses on learning, reflection, and further learning..."

"Alright, alright!" Student Number One clearly showed no respect, impatiently yelling, "Just tell me how to act, stop rambling on about a bunch of weird stuff!"

"Oh, so you wanted to take the back door, to take a shortcut? That's easy."

Bai Ying said kindly, "9527, step aside for a moment, I'll give her some extra help."

"Oh? Okay!"

Angelina was delighted and stood up from her chair.

Feng Bin and Hua were startled, and raised their hands to pull Angelina back into her chair: "You...you say..."

She sat back down heavily, a jolt-like sensation spreading from her buttocks to her thighs and up her nerves. Angelina's eyes widened, her voice trembling, "Ouch—! It hurts! Don't pull me like that! It hurts so much!"

"Ah, oh, sorry, sorry..." Toyohama Kazuka quickly let go of his hand and tried to comfort him, "Muscle soreness and such, you'll get used to it."

Angelina: "It's not you who's in pain!"

Kazuka Toyohama: "How could it hurt if I exercise regularly? It must be because I sit and lie down too much."

Unable to refute...

Angelina's eyes flashed, and she mercilessly read aloud, "White Shadow, hurry up and start your acting training! I can't wait!"

"Uh..." Feng Binhua took a deep breath. Fragments of her team, her sister, her work, and her dreams flashed through her mind. She clenched her fists, bit her lip slightly, and her expression became tragic. "No matter what I do, as long as I can play that role well, that's enough!"

Bai Ying raised his hand to touch his chin, and said with a playful tone, "Hehehe, I admire your determination."

“Fengbin, don’t say things like that to your superiors so casually.” Angelina listed a series of possibilities with concern. “Do you know about the Scarlet Theatre Troupe’s special training? It’s all about improvisation! What if your superior asks you to act like a lesbian in front of women on the street? See those kids playing together in the park? You might have to give them lollipops right away, then snatch them back, and then convince them not to be angry! Or you might have to perform whatever you want, making at least 10 people stop and watch for you or something…”

Feng Bin and Hua Zhensheng said, "It's okay! As long as we can film this important scene well, we'll do anything!"

"Ah, this..." Angelina was taken aback. They were actually willing to make such a sacrifice?!

"If it doesn't work..." the new actress gritted her teeth, glaring at Bai Ying, "then you'll be sorry!"

"Don't worry, as long as you agree to my request, everything else is negotiable."

Teacher Bai smiled slightly, stepped closer to the new actress, and was already in front of her in the blink of an eye. The new actress tensed up, and in a moment of panic, she subconsciously kicked at him, but the kick missed, and Teacher Bai turned her calf over and trapped it between his legs.

“What are you doing…”

The new actress was about to shout in a panic and try to get up when the other person grabbed her shoulders and pressed her firmly into the chair. She instinctively grabbed the other person's forearms, but felt an unshakeable force on them. She was unsure whether she was too weak or the other person was too strong.